Never Let Go
by future author at work
Summary: After doing the impossible, the sisters are granted the return of their sister. However, when secrets and lies from their past mingle with an impending evil in their future, the charmed ones soon find that serenity doesn't last long. Next Generation fic
1. Prologue

**Summary: After doing the impossible, the sisters are granted the greatest gift they could have ever received; the return of their sister. However, when secrets and lies from their past mingle with an impending evil in their future, the charmed ones soon find that serenity never lasts long. **

**Prologue**

_New York, New York, September 23, 2028 7:52 p.m._

The plane had landed, but even now as my feet paced across the solid ground of the New York City terminal, my heart raced with terror. These innocent mortals had no idea what was going on around them. They didn't know who was following me. They didn't know what I was about to do.

"Melinda!" a voice called. I recognized it immediately.

"Heather," I said, racing over to her. "We have to hurry. We don't have much time."

"I know, I know," she whispered, reaching into her bag and searching before pulling out three little vials. "These should stun, not kill, but stun him long enough for you to find Peyton."

I nodded, although in all truth, I hadn't at all intended to find Peyton. If I could time everything just right, I'd be able to get back, to fix everything. Time. Nothing was more important right now. That's when time stopped.

The previously bustling mortals stopped dead in their tracks; Heather was unmoving. I was the only one free to move. Only him and me.

"Melinda," he said, his voice cold. He smiled at me. I hated it when he smiled at me. "How have you been?"

"Fine until you showed up," I retorted, preparing the stun potions. "Wyatt send you here to kill me?"

"Nah. Devyn did," he replied, a smile curving his lips.

"Well, then I feel bad for you. It's going to be hard to have to report to Devyn that you failed," I said, carefully biding my time.

"I won't fail."

I tossed one of the stun potions. He froze it. I knew he would. With a flick of his wrist, he reversed the loop of time the potion had been traveling in, sending it back towards my hand. I took the second I had to react. I threw the next stun potion, catching him in that briefest instant of rewind. i took his hand, channeled his powers through me, and before I knew it, I was falling into the past.

_San Francisco, California, May 30th, 2006 4:28 p.m._

"Piper!" Phoebe called, walking through the doors of the Halliwell Manor.

Piper, as usual, stood in the kitchen, slaving away on dinner for her family. Phoebe smiled. It was nice to see her sister brewing something other than potions for once. "Hey, so, I need an answer."

"For what?" Piper asked, sprinkling an herb that Phoebe would never wish to recognize over her chicken.

"Can you cater at my wedding?" Phoebe asked.

"Of course, Phoebe. I'd love to," Piper replied. "Would you like to stay for dinner."

"I might as well since Coop is with another client," Phoebe mumbled. "Where's Leo?"

"He went to the park with the boys. He should be home soon," Piper said, carrying her creations out to the dining room.

Paige took that moment to orb in. "Hello, sisters of mine, I just came back from a rather interesting chat with the elders," she said, a grin on her face.

"It can't be that interesting," Piper replied. "What can a bunch of old guys with no lives tell you?"

Phoebe snickered as Paige stared at Piper. "Well, they've actually decided we deserve a reward for all the hard work and dedication we have put into demon fighting over the past years."

"And what can they possibly give us as a worthy exchange?" Piper asked.

Phoebe gasped and Piped turned to find Prue standing before her. "Prue..."

"Piper," Prue said, embracing her sister. "It's good to see you."

"I-I don't understand..."

"The gift from the elders," Paige put in.

"After everything they took from you, they figured the only thing that would make up for it is a sister," Prue replied.

To the four sisters the moment couldn't have been more perfect. Of course, that's when I dropped in. Literally dropped in. And that's when I passed out from the unnoticed wound in my side.


	2. Chapter 1

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up. I've had total writers block and then I completely lost track of the time. Anyway, please review because they make me happy and help me keep going. Oh, and I promise the story is going to start to heat up soon, but I just need to find the perfect way to execute me evil plan. Muuaahaahaaahaa!!!!!!! Sorry, I just experienced a moment of insanity, but I'm better now. Please review. :D**

**Chapter 1**

When I woke up, it was to find myself on the couch in the manor living room with Prue standing over me.

"Who are you?" she asked.

My mind was swirling. What should I tell them? What could I say that would make them help me? What was too much information?

"I'm Mel," I mumbled.

"Okay, and what are you doing in our house?" Prue asked, hands on her hips.

"I-I'm from the future, and I'm here to help Wyatt," I stumbled over the words I had practiced repeatedly in front of the bathroom mirror.

"Oh please," Piper groaned. "Let me guess. You don't know what's going to happen, but you do know that some unknown evil is going to attack my son, right?"

"Piper!" Phoebe scolded.

"What? I don't believe this girl."

"Well, you didn't believe Chris either, and look how that turned out," I mumbled, not truly catching my mistake until after the words had stumbled out.

"You know Chris?" Piper asked, her eyes locked on mine.

I nodded mutely. "Yeah, I know Chris. We're pretty close actually."

Piper glared at me, clearly not sure if she could trust me or not. I glanced over at the other sisters. Prue was wearing a similar look of disbelief while Phoebe and Paige seemed to be thinking everything over.

"Look, I know this is going to sound crazy, alright? I know you guys think you saved Wyatt, but you didn't," I explained. "Giddian was only part of it. Not even an elder would be enough to turn someone that powerful against everything he believes in. I'm not sure what did it, all I know is that if we don't do something, there isn't going be a future left."

"Oh please," Prue interrupted this time. "Could you be anymore melodramatic?"

"You honestly expect us to believe that everything we went through with Chris meant nothing?" Piper asked, anger rising in her voice.

"Of course it meant something. It prolonged Wyatt's goodness. It gave him more time, but that's not going to be enough."

"Piper," Phoebe said, placing a hand on Piper's shoulder which Piper immediately shook off. "I think you shouldn't dismiss this so easily. She could be right."

"Or she could be a demon after my son," Piper replied.

"Piper, I'll take whatever test you want me to take, but I promise you, I would never do anything to hurt Wyatt," I replied.

Piper looked at me skeptically for a while before nodding. "You have one chance. But screw this up, and you have to deal with me."

* * *

Things weren't really any different than I had expected them to be. I hung around the house, trying to find a lead on who turned Wyatt. The sisters didn't spend much time in the house, usually out working or spending time with friends. They also weren't very thrilled about demon hunting. I really didn't mind. I was used to vanquishing a couple demons a day, so going down to the underworld to take out a few bad guys really didn't bother me.

Piper continued to be suspicious of me, even by the end of my first week at the manor. Prue was too. Phoebe and Paige, however, acted as if nothing had changed. Paige even offered to help me out every once and a while, and I was totally okay with that.

Somewhere in the back of my head, there was always a resurfacing fear that I would fail. I was always scared that somehow, I would fail to save Wyatt, and all of my efforts would be for nothing. I forced the thoughts away, knowing that if I continued to stay on that line of thinking, I would never get anything done.

The best thing that happened in that first week was meeting Billie. She was always up for helping me out with the demon vanquishes, and she was just an all around awesome person. She knew what she wanted, and she wasn't afraid to take it.

It was the beginning of my second week at the manor, and I stood flipping through the pages in the book of shadows while Billie stocked up on the basic necessities: stun potions, transportation potions, smoke potions, explosives, etc. The hardest part about looking through the book of shadows was that there were so many demons in there that brought back bad memories. Or worse, there were so many demons that weren't there that I knew would end up causing a whole lot of damage.

"Hey," Phoebe said, walking into the attic. "What are you guys up to?"

"A few more demon vanquishes," Billie replied, putting a cork in another potion vial.

"You guys can take a break every once in a while," Phoebe said, taking a seat on aunt Pearl's couch.

"Phoebe, the future won't save itself," I replied. I picked up a pen and paper and began writing down a vanquishing spell.

"Well, since we're talking about the future, maybe you can tell me what happens if I marry Coop or not," Phoebe mumbled.

"What do you mean, _if_ you marry Coop?" Billie asked, pausing in her potion making.

I sighed. "Phoebe, I'm not allowed to tell you guys about the future. Just listen to your heart. It'll guide you."

"Well, my heart's kinda sending me mixed signals right now," Phoebe replied. "I mean, with everything going on, do we really have time for a wedding?"

"Phoebe, there's always a lot going on," Billie answered. "Sometimes you just have to take a risk."

"And sometimes you just get sick of getting hurt," Phoebe mumbled.

"Well, as a strong believer in the whole 'true love conquers all' thing, I say, if you love him, go for it," I replied. "If you don't, then don't."

"I do love him. But then, I loved Cole, and I loved Jason..."

"Well, Coop isn't a demon and he isn't going to freak out about you being with either," Billie replied.

Phoebe smiled. "Am I being ridiculous?"

"Yes," Billie and I said in unison.

"Alright," Phoebe said, getting up and leaving the attic.


	3. chapter 2

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. This story had been on hiatus when I totally blanked on how to continue it, so I'm going to jump ahead a couple of weeks to get things going. Enjoy!**

My biggest problem came in the form of the eldest Halliwell sister. Things had always been pretty tense with us, but here in the past, Prue couldn't seem to keep her nose out of my business. I knew she didn't trust me, and part of me said that I shouldn't blame her since things definitely weren't at their best, but it was nearly impossible for me to handle my job while making sure that she didn't learn any unnecessary information about the future.

Piper and Phoebe simply seemed concerned with Phoebe's upcoming wedding. Paige continued to take on new charges. Billie continued to help me with my quest. Unfortunately, what I didn't realize was that I had bitten off far more than I could chew.

It all started on a Saturday morning. Leo and Piper had taken Wyatt and Chris out for some family time, so Prue finally let her guard down. Paige was busy with her charges, Phoebe and Prue were downstairs discussing details for Phoebe's wedding, and Billie and I were working on another lead. Another lead that just wasn't leading anywhere.

"Now what?" Billie asked, staring down at a lumpy potion that wasn't quite going right.

"I'm not sure," I mumbled, looking over the recipe again. "This seems different than I remember." That's when I realized that the potion in the book hadn't yet been corrected, so I really had no idea what I was doing. I sighed, practically giving up. "This is impossible," I groaned.

"Did you honestly think it would be easy to defeat the greatest overlord of all time?"

It took a moment for the voice to register in my mind, but the moment it did, I found myself leaping over the table and pushing Billie out of the way just as an energy ball came souring towards us. Once I was sure that his attack had failed, I stood to face him. "A little predictable, don't you think?"

Drew growled at me, hurling an nonstop hoard of energy balls my way. I waved my arm, allowing my telekinesis to flow through me, forcing the energy balls back toward the sender. They hit their target straight in the chest, forcing him back into the wall with enough force to dent it. Within seconds, Phoebe and Prue had made their way up to the attic. It only took Drew a moment to realize just how outnumbered he was, and he shimmered away.

"What was that?" Phoebe asked, taking a look at the dent in the wall.

"That was an upper level demon," I replied, not meeting the glare Prue had sent my way, "from my time."

* * *

We- and by _we_ I meant Prue, Phoebe, and Billie since my opinion didn't matter- agreed not to tell Piper until she got home. She put Wyatt and Chris down for their naps, and we called Paige home. It didn't take long to explain what had happened, or for Piper to get pissed.

"Why didn't you guys tell me sooner?" Piper asked, and Paige held a look on her face that said the exact same thing.

"We didn't want to ruin your time with your family," Billie explained.

"Well, this is pretty important," Piper snapped. "Who's the demon?"

"His name is Drew," I replied. "He's one of Wyatt's hired guns. I just don't understand why Wyatt would go through the trouble of sending a demon to the past."

"Maybe he's afraid you're about to change his future," Paige said.

"I doubt it," I said, mulling it over. "Wyatt believes that everything that happens in my future is fate. If that's the case, he wouldn't think it was possible for us to change it."

"What if it's not?" Prue said, her eyes downcast. "You already tried, but it didn't work, right?"

"That just means we didn't find the right person," I persisted. A part of me repeatedly said Prue's words. What if it wasn't possible? No. It had to be possible. I couldn't accept that everything we had been through had been for nothing. "We need to figure out who gets to Wyatt and fast. Before he gets the chance to send anymore demons after us."

"But he wouldn't send anyone to kill us, right?" Phoebe asked. "I mean, that would change the future."

"I don't know, Phoebe," I replied. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

We were all worried, but we all did out best to hide it. Phoebe tried to convince herself that everything was fine as she worried about her wedding. Out of everyone, Piper seemed to be the most in denial, not that I could really blame her. She was probably just as worried as I was that Prue had been right when she said that Wyatt couldn't be saved. I was sure the thought made her just as distraught as it made me, and she hadn't even seen the future.

It was almost a week after Drew had attacked, and I finally managed to get all of the sisters and Billie together to worry about vanquishing demons. All of our powers were strong enough to vanquish most bad guys without any help, but that didn't mean a little extra back-up didn't go a long way. We had vanquished well over twenty demons when Phoebe had a premonition.

"What did you see, Phoebes?" Paige asked.

"There was a kid, a little boy, probably only a couple of years old," Phoebe said, doing her best to recall the vision. "He had black hair and blue eyes and there was a demon, and I think it was trying to drink his blood."

"Oh, gross!" Billie said, turning her head away.

"When and where?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. It looked like an apartment and it had to be around dusk," Phoebe explained.

"It's-" Paige stopped to glance at her watch, "almost seven. We need to figure out where that apartment is."

"Phoebe, were there other building's around it?" Prue asked.

"I-I don't know, I could only see inside," Phoebe explained.

"Were the walls blue?" Prue asked.

Phoebe nodded, and a wave of nausea overcame me as I came to the same conclusion Prue had.

"I know where it is," Prue said, orbing us away.

* * *

The apartment looked almost exactly as it had the last time I was there, only instead of cluttered and dusty, the place was in perfect condition. Bookshelves lined the walls and each was filled with books, mostly about history. The only thing that seemed slightly out of place was a lone coffee mug on top of a small coffee table.

"Where are we?" Paige asked.

"It's-" Prue's answer was cut short by the sound of screaming from the other room.

Prue was there in a second, waving her arm and causing a demon to go flying into the far wall. That's when I noticed a little boy, only about a month younger than Chris, with pitch black hair and bright blue eyes with nothing but terror in them. The demon, one I only recognized by face, took one look at us and knew that the battle had been lost. He shimmered away.

Prue walked over to the little boy and picked him up, holding him close. "Are you alright?" Prue asked.

He nodded, snuggling closer to her as he began to sob.

"I should have told you before," Prue said, turning to face her sisters. I could hear the words in my head before she said them aloud. "This is Preston. He's my son."


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay, so this chapter is going to be a little different. It takes place in Mel's time and is gonna jump POVs a little bit. Enjoy! **

_**Priscilla**_

Never had I feared anyone the way that I feared him. No one had ever had such power over me. No one else had ever been able to turn me against my true love. Or, the man I thought I'd loved.

"Priscilla, how nice of you to come," he said, stepping closer to me, running his long fingers through my hair. "I was afraid you wouldn't show."

"Don't I always?" I replied, refusing to meet those endless black eyes.

"Yes, you are quite obedient, although the stakes have changed," he said, his eyes roaming my face. "They're higher now, and I wasn't sure that you would be willing to rise to the occasion."

"Of course I am," I replied obediently.

"Good, Priscilla," he said. I always hated that serpentine way he said my name, sending chills down my spine. "You don't disappoint. You know what I want you to do, correct?"

"Destroy them," I said.

"Yes," he replied, smiling now. "Destroy them, but not until you figure out how they broke through my spell. If we can't figure out how they sent Mel to the past, we'll never be able to retrieve her. Do you understand."

I nodded.

"Good. Don't come back until the job is finished," he said, sending me away.

I made my way to the attic door, wanting to escape as soon as possible. However, as I reached the door, I felt his hand on my arm, turning me to face him.

"And Priscilla, do be careful. I'd rather not have to bury you next to Penny and Patty," he said, his lips curving up into a sneer. "I love you."

I yanked my arm from his grasp. He knew how much he hated it when he talked about them. I glared at him before turning and heading for the exit. Before I left, however, I found myself stopping one last time as a tear trickled down my cheek. I found I couldn't stop myself from whispering, "I love you too." I could practically feel him smile.

_**Peyton**_

It's too dangerous. You're too young. You might get hurt. We're just looking out for you. It's for your protection. I'd like to show them what I think about their protection. I'll take it and shove it up their...

"Peyton, what are you doing?" Oh, great.

"Making a potion to vanquish some demons I'm not allowed to fight," I said, rolling my eyes in irritation.

"I know your mad, but he's just trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection, Ty," I said, ignoring the urge to slap him. It wasn't fair. Everyone could do whatever they wanted, but I was treated like a four-year-old. "Here's you damn potion," I said, tossing him the vial.

"We'll be back in an hour," Ty said, pocketing the potion. "Don't do anything stupid while we're gone."

Clearly, everything I did was considered stupid. That's why I wasn't allowed to vanquish demons and was forced staying back with the sick, injured, etc. Sometimes I wished I could just cast a spell and blow this whole hellhole to smithereens. Of course, I'd probably just screw that up too.

I packed up the potion ingredients and stored them away. They were of no use to me now. All I could really do was sit around and obey everyone's orders or Mel would have my head when she came back. Once everything was back where I had gotten it, I got up and left.

There's something about the Fortress that's really comforting. It's all really one building, but the architecture and furnishings make it seem almost like six different buildings with gardens in between. That, of course, means that even though I'm not allowed to leave the grounds, I can still take a calming walk to get rid of any stress and still feel like I'm outside.

I miss the outdoors. I miss playing soccer. I miss the old rendezvous spot under the old oak tree just behind the school. I miss watching the clouds and listening to the neighbors dog barking his head off at the cars driving by. I miss hanging out with Mel, laughing at her every time her cheeks flushed when she saw Ty. I miss my parents. I miss my sister. I miss feeling like I'm worth something. I miss having a reason to live...

* * *

The hour having come and gone, I'm bored. I know I should be concerned that someone got hurt or something went wrong or they got stuck in orbing traffic, but mostly, I'm just bored. People are always saying that there's so much to do around here, but there really isn't. There's work and cleaning, and every so often you can convince a couple people to play pool or poker or even karaoke, but mostly, everything was just boring. I really wished Mel were there with me. Things just hadn't been the same since she left.

It was almost two hours since Ty and the others had left, and now I was getting anxious. What if they just decided to leave? I knew it was ridiculous to think since there were still injured people here to take care of, and Preston would never just get up and go, and if they did want to run away, they'd have to come back and get their supplies, but I worried anyway. I couldn't stand the thought of staying here alone. Bored. So bored...

"Hello, Peyton."

Every time I heard that voice I wanted to punch a wall. I would say there was something about Priscilla that made me sick, but the truth was, I hated every single part of her down to the core. I didn't care what Mel or Preston had to say, I didn't care that our job wasn't to punish the guilty, I didn't care she was stronger, faster, smarter, and more agile then me, and I sure as hell didn't care that blood supposedly flows thicker than water. All I cared about was that knife she held in her hand and the terrified girl that had lost her life because of it.

"Murderer!" I screamed, throwing myself at her. Common sense would have told me to use telekinesis and take the knife. Of course, common sense was the last thing flowing through my mind right now. I was overcome with my conflicted emotions. Anger most of all, then guilt, regret, fear, and pain.

I'm not sure how I did it, but soon enough, I had her pinned to the ground, her knife skidding across the floor.

"Wow, Peyton, you've grown," she said mockingly. "What are you, five foot now?"

Pain. All I felt was a searing pain as my body flew across the room, smashing into an old couch and knocking over a lamp.

"Let's not be stupid, Peyton," Priscilla said, rising to her feet and approaching me. "I have no orders to kill you, and therefore, I can let you live. I'm just looking to make one kill tonight."

"Go to Hell," I spat, finally allowing thought to beat out impulse and using my telekinesis to send her into the far wall.

She was on her feet in seconds, and before I could even think to react, she was on me, pushing me to the floor. My face connected with the carpet, and I could feel the warm liquid pouring from my nose. "Maybe I will in time," she said, "but your hell begins now."

I didn't know what she had planned, and I hadn't even thought it might be an option, but soon she had the place lit on fire.

"No!" I screamed, trying to put it out, but soon I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything went black.

* * *

When my eyes opened again, it couldn't have been much later, but apparently I had been out long enough for the whole room to have caught flame. I screamed for help to find that no one would be coming. Next, I tried orbing. I wasn't sure what Priscilla had done, but I couldn't do that either. I was going to die in a burning building that had for so long been my home. I was ready to accept that.

Soon I felt the smoke filling my lungs, the heat enough for me to want to explode. I wanted it to end, but I couldn't see an end in my future. 'This is what I wanted,' I told myself. 'Soon everything will be okay.'

But it wasn't. Soon the searing pain against my skin was becoming five... no ten times worse and my lungs were so filled with smoke that I couldn't stop coughing but they couldn't be cleared. I gagged, knowing that if the flames didn't kill me, there were only about one hundred other ways I could die in here, none of them pleasant.

And that's when I felt the fear take over. Stronger than anything I had felt in a long time, I was afraid. Would there be a heaven for me? How long would it take? How badly would it hurt? Soon, I simply couldn't take it.

'Air,' was all I could think. I needed air. That's when I heard it in my head, words I had never heard before in my life. But they held a comfort to them, a sense of security and I felt my lips forming them with the last of the oxygen in my body.

"Desperate times, desperate measures

bring to us the hidden treasures

give me strength to search and find

a place of safety and peace of mind."

And before I knew it was I free, fleeing into a world of beauty that I had no right to be part of. My home was gone, I was a coward, and soon, I'd have to face the music.

**I'm not trying to sound conceited, but I'm really proud of this chapter. I thought it was pretty good, so tell me what you think. Please? It'll make me happy. :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm soooo sorry! for taking so long to update. I had completely forgotten about this story. Okay, so thanks for the reviews everybody and keep it up. They're the fuel that keeps me going. Anyway, this chapter takes place in the past, or well, the present. Either way you'd like to look at it, I guess. So please review!**

_Melinda_

If I'd thought it was hard to keep the sisters focused before, it was even harder with Preston around. It was bad enough when Piper had to worry about Wyatt and Chris, but Preston was a cry-baby, and every time something happened, Prue had to stop and make sure he was okay. The sad part was, it was pretty obvious that the only person more infuriated by all of this than me was Prue. Phoebe and Paige couldn't help fussing over him, commenting on how cute and sweet he was. It was sickening.

There was so much going on, and nobody seemed able to focus. Didn't they realize that Wyatt didn't have forever?

I stood in the kitchen, brewing a potion, staring into a pair of innocent blue eyes. Preston sat on the counter staring at me, carefully watching my every move. I wanted to push him off the counter, but I managed to fight back the urge. Chris never would have let his emotions take control of him like that, and neither would I.

Phoebe entered the room searching for a cup of coffee. It wasn't until she had her first sip that she even acknowledged me. "Mel, why are you up so early?" she asked.

"Well, I figured since none of you seem very interested in Wyatt's safety, it's probably best that I start working over time," I growled.

Phoebe glanced over at Preston who was still watching me intently. She picked up her nephew, bouncing him on her hip. Preston giggled happily and for a moment, my anger began to fade. It had been a long time since he'd smiled like that. I couldn't stand to think that this might be the last time.

"I'm sorry, Mel," Phoebe said, dragging me back to reality. "But with work and the wedding and everything, we've all been a little distracted."

"I do understand that Phoebe," I said. "I'm not completely heartless or anything. But Wyatt has to be the number one priority right now, or we'll lose him. We can't afford any distractions."

Now, I've never been much of a fan of irony. It made for a funny twist in movies, but irony and I could never be good friends in real life. It was clearly trying to get on my nerves when it picked that moment to send the only thing that truly could have distracted me hurdling into my life at that very moment.

A swirl of golden lights; a tattered body; a pair of green eyes. "Peyton?" I asked, shock taking over.

"Mel," he choked out. Only two more words managed to escape his lips before the darkness overtook him. "Help me."

* * *

Waiting for Prue to heal Peyton felt interminable. My mind was racing, my feelings a jumbled heap, and everything that should have made sense strangling me. When his eyes finally did open, I found myself hugging him, probably squeezing the life out of him, terrified of letting go.

"Mel," he choked, hugging me back, but with a lot less force. "I'm happy to see you to, but you're going to crack my spinal cord."

I pulled back only to look at him, but my fingers still rested on his arms. He looked paler than usual, skinnier, and definitely more tired. I wondered if he had been getting enough sleep. It was doubtful.

"Peyton, what's going on?" I asked.

"It's a long story," he said, his eyes falling to the floor.

"Well, kid, I suggest you start explaining," Paige said, pursing her lips and tapping her foot impatiently.

Peyton glanced up at me for a moment before averting his eyes. "It's gone."

"What's gone?" I asked, not even bothering to hide the fear in my voice. When a few moments passed and he still hadn't answered, I demanded, "What's gone, Peyton?"

"Everything," he whispered, choking back sobs. "Mel, I'm so sorry. I didn't know what to do. I panicked."

"What are you talking about?" I asked again. He continued to cry, burying his face in his hands. I pulled him to me, embracing him. "Look, it's going to be okay, alright? I just need you to tell me what happened."

"Why don't you start with who you are and why you're here?" Prue said, causing anger to build up inside of me.

"Do you not see that he's having a hard time right now?" I snapped.

"Do you not realize that we've experienced enough problems to know that we shouldn't let random people in our home without an explanation?" Prue retorted.

"It hasn't been your home for a long time," I mumbled beneath my breath, turning my attention back to Peyton. He was obviously distraught, and I was mostly just worried about him. Still, I knew that Prue, and the other sisters for that matter, wouldn't leave us alone until they received answers.

I sighed before saying, "This is Peyton and he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. You can trust him."

"Don't be so sure," Prue said. "After all, I'm still not sure whether or not I trust you."

No one said a word, and I took that chance to focus on Peyton. "Hey," I said, trying to draw his hands away from his face to no avail. "Pey, it's okay. Don't worry."

"Maybe we should give them some space for now," Phoebe suggested. I could have hugged her.

The sisters couldn't really find any reason not to oblige, so within a few moments, they had all made their way from the room. I could finally focus all of my energies on making sure Peyton was okay, and I knew from one quick look at him that that was a full time job.

**Sorry it took so long for me to update. My muse has been terribly overworked lately, so I sent her off to Disney World, but she refused to come back! The nerve. Anyway, her boyfriend dumped her so she finally came back home, but she was far too distraught to get back to work. However, she did give me the number to one of her long-time friends, and she seems to be more than excited to help me out while my muse is recovering. Anyway, please review. The more I get, the more I can pay this muse. :)**


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